Product Description
Ever since Jane Goodall unlocked the mysteries of wild chimpanzees, and Dian Fossey lived among mountain gorillas, the world has been captivated by primates and the people who study them. Here, at last, is the riveting story of Birute Galdikas, a pioneering primatologist who has spent much of her life studying orangutans. In 1971, twenty-five-year-old Galdikas began living in the remote jungles of Indonesian Borneo, where she encountered menacing poachers, blood-sucking leeches, and swarms of carnivorous insects. Determined to penetrate the world of the elusive "red ape" in the name of science and conservation, Galdikas embarked on a quest of more than twenty years to become the foremost chronicler of orangutan life.Her first task was to forge a bond of trust with the animals, but her initial forays into their world were thwarted by skeptical and territorial orangutans like handsome Cara, who hurled dead branches at Galdikas from the tree canopy above. Eventually, Galdikas became a surrogate member of the community, triumphantly claimed as "mother" by little Sugito, who clung to her fiercely, night and day, for months. Reflections of Eden is an exotic adventure, a history of vital scientific research, and the memoir of a remarkable woman.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 19 reviews)

Leakey's Least Known Field Researcher by David B Richman (Mesilla Park, NM USA)

5 Stars
April 11, 2009
I bought this book at a talk by Birute Gladikas at New Mexico State University. I had heard of her work in Borneo, but many of my co-workers did not know who she was, although they would have easily recognized the name of Jane Goodall, and possibly Dian Fossey, in part because Goodall has been more in the news and in part because of Fossey's unfortunate death. As Gladikas gave her talk, it was again impressed on me how heroic all three had been in their efforts to study and then protect the great apes they were assigned. While it has been said that Fossey got too involved with her gorillas, leading to her murder, one can easily understand her rage at human brutality toward her subjects. Both Goodall and Gladikas had to face similar challenges and managed to survive (although not always easily!) For her part, Gladikas has captured the difficulties and triumphs of her life in "Reflections of Edan: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo". Certainly all three young women faced unbelievable challenges in studying great apes in the wild. Goodall and Fossey had to deal with the political instability in Central Africa at the time of their studies on chimpanzees and gorillas, and Fossey was especially pressed by poachers. To a large degree Gladikas had to deal with both, but she did so with remarkable finesse and diplomacy. However, as Gladikas would say I'm sure, the real story is about the orangutans themselves. These creatures, which share 97% of our DNA, are as fascinating as the other great apes. These are perhaps among the least social of the apes and harken back to the early evolution of that branch of the primate line. It is a great shame that human greed for palm oil, timber, gold and zircons, as well as poached baby orangutans, has threatened them with extinction. Gladikas, like the other "Leakey angels", has had to turn her attention away from research to the conservation of the Bornean orangutans. She has done this very effectively and I really stand in awe of the difficulties she has faced in her efforts to prevent the loss of these wonderful animals. I had a short conversation with Birute Gladikas as she signed the book after her talk and this only added to my admiration of her, and of the other women who took on the difficult task of observing wild great apes. I urge anyone who wants to understand the issues involved in the conservation of these wonderful cousins of ours to read this book!

I Wanted So Badly To Love It... by Andy (Wisconsin, USA)

3 Stars
December 21, 2008
Birute Galdikas is known by fewer people than Fossey or Goodall. However, I knew her name well when I purchased this book, as I'm a big fan of primates, great apes in particular. This was the third book exclusively about orangutans I purchased, after "The Red Ape" and "Wizards of the Rainforest." This book was by far, my least favorite of the three. While Red Ape is scientific, bordering on dry, it's very thought provoking and informative. Wizards isn't written for a scientifc crowd, but the stories and pictures give you real insight into organgutan life and personality, and, in my opinion, is one of the best books I've ever read. This book seemed to try to straddle the two areas, scientific and personal, and poorly at that. Galdikas also delved much further into her personal life than I cared to read about, from her feminist viewpoints, to her childhood, to her marriage and subsequent divorce. This book at times felt more autobiography than a book about orangutans. I respect her as a person and as a scientist, and I don't mean to take anything away from what she's accomplished, because it is truly amazing, but her book was the wrong platform to talk extensively about things other than orangutans. There are some good pictures. There are a few anecdotal and amusing stories. I will glady keep the book in my ever growing primate library, but unlike some of the other books I have, I doubt this one will leave my shelf very often. If you get it used for $3.00, it's a fine purchase. I'd never pay for a "new" copy of it.

An essential insight by Dawn Forsythe (Silver Spring, MD USA)

5 Stars
December 07, 2008
Galdikas provides an essential insight into the lives of orangutans before the current torrent of rainforest destruction. In this day of "Orangutan Island" and other necessary rescue efforts, it is helpful to learn the patterns of truly wild orangutan life before sanctuaries and rehabilitation. I found myself constantly highlighting and making notes in the margin of this book -- which I usually don't do. Galdikas also gives a passionate and honest narration of the early days of orangutan advocacy, which she helped spur. Like many Westerners, I find the appearance of apathy on the part of Indonesian government utterly appalling. More than any other book that I've read on the subject, she explains the Indonesian culture driving their governmental policies and (in)actions. This is a "must read" for anyone seriously interested in saving the orangutans. BUT you must follow it up with A Dark Place in the Jungle: Following Leakey's Last Angel into Borneo, a book by Linda Spalding that provides an insight into Galdikas. Spalding's book is essential to understanding why orangutan advocacy today is splintered between groups who lack transparency and, arguably, effectiveness.

Excellent work by Dr. Galdikas by Mishelle Reaux (Colorado Springs)

5 Stars
January 29, 2008
Dr. Galdikas study and care of the orangutans of Borneo is greatly appreciated. My friends and myself enjoyed this book a great deal. Long live Dr. Galdikas and the magnificant orangutans of Borneo!

Through another pair of eyes and ears by Barbara Jackson (Pawnee City, NE USA)

4 Stars
May 25, 2007
The next best thing to living in an Indonesian rain forest with these creatures is reading this account. The animals are of course, her main focus but the daily life and the reality of bringing a child into this forest are all examined and told with the same voice. The rain forest, sights, sounds and smells come to life through her vivid descriptions. I have reread this book along with all of Goodall's and the Fossey books and this is a necessary addition to the knowledge of great apes.

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